How do you say Hello in Chinese?
The most common way to say “hello” in Chinese is 你好. Here are the main options, when to use each, and how to pronounce them.
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你好
nǐ hǎo
The standard hello, with anyone.
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您好
nín hǎo
Polite: to older people, customers, in formal settings.
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大家好
dàjiā hǎo
“Hello, everyone”, to a group or an audience.
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喂
wéi
Hello on the phone only.
Use it in a sentence
- Hello, nice to meet you.你好，很高兴认识你。Nǐ hǎo, hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ.
- Hello, teacher!老师好！Lǎoshī hǎo!
- Hello everyone, my name is Mike.大家好，我叫Mike。Dàjiā hǎo, wǒ jiào Mike.
- Hello, who’s calling, please? (phone)喂，您好，请问是哪位？Wéi, nín hǎo, qǐngwèn shì nǎ wèi?
Good to know
你好 is written with the characters for “you” and “good”. Both syllables are third tone, so in speech the first one rises: ní hǎo.
The same pattern works with titles: 老师好 (lǎoshī hǎo) is how pupils greet a teacher.
Good morning is 早上好 (zǎoshang hǎo), or just 早 (zǎo).
These greetings are written the same in Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong. In Cantonese, hello is néih hóu.